KDC in the News

Dr. Louis Philipson, Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director of the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago, addresses the quality of life issues for diabetes patients and the ongoing work to find improved treatment options.

For diabetes patients, it's a tough road. Managing the disease is a life-long struggle that requires a strict daily regimen to, in a sense, manually regulate what healthy bodies do on their own...

 The full article can be accessed through the Executive Healthcare Management Website.

"Outstanding Science Award, 2007" given to Louis H. Philipson, M.D., Ph.D
University of Chicago physician and professor recognized for using his "power to make a difference" in disease research.

May, 2007-Louis H. Philipson, M.D., Ph.D was presented with an "Outstanding Science Award, 2007" at the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) Board of Trustees Dinner on earlier this year. Dr. Philipson was recognized for his work related to the screening, diagnosis and treatment of patients with a newly discovered rare form of neonatal diabetes subtypes.

During a nine-month period, Dr. Philipson, a professor at the University of Chicago and director of the Kovler Diabetes Center and his colleagues studied 10 patients originally diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at an early age who were on insulin therapy for several years.

However, after conducting genetic screenings, Philipson and his team did not find the autoimmune-caused deficiency found in Type 1 diabetes; instead they found a single gene mutation, the result of neonatal diabetes.

Recently, research supported by genetics teams in England and other studies in France and Houston concluded that high doses of a sulfonylurea drug (glyburide) could restore close to normal insulin secretion in patients with neonatal diabetes, allowing them to stop using insulin.

Using this information, Philipson started weaning his patients off insulin. In one case, a patient who had been using an insulin pump for nearly seven years began making insulin within four days. After a week, she was off the pump and using the prescribed pills.

While this treatment can be life changing, neonatal diabetes is a rare disease and according to Philipson, there are many questions to be answered and it is likely that further research will hold important implications for those with other forms of diabetes.

"So far over forty patients with multiple different insulin gene mutations worldwide have been identified in only a little over three months since our discovery," Dr. Philipson said. "This is a very exciting development, since it is a new model of human diabetes, with aspects that relate to ideas for treatment of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes."

And for those who he has helped, Philipson has earned the honor of "Outstanding Science Award" for accelerating research from discovery to cure.

For more information about the screening and treatment of monogenic diabetes, contact NDRI at 1-800-222-6374.

Louis H. Philipson, M.D., Ph.D Named "Father of the Year"
University of Chicago physician and professor honored by the American Diabetes Association.

June, 2007-Louis H. Philipson, M.D., Ph.D was named 2007 "Father of the Year" by the American Diabetes Foundation and the Father's Day Council at the Father of the Year Awards dinner in Chicago.

The award honors fathers who have helped make a positive impact on their community while balancing their personal and professional lives and demonstrating their ability to serve as a role model for their children. A resident of Hyde Park, Dr. Philipson and his wife Lynn have been married for 27 years and have three children.

Dr. Philipson is an associate professor for The University of Chicago's Department of Medicine and the director of the Kovler Diabetes Center. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1976 and his PhD from The University of Chicago in 1982. In 1986, he received his MD from the University of Chicago. He has spent his career treating patients with diabetes and endocrine disorders.

The Father of the Year Awards dinner benefits advocacy, research, and education initiatives of the American Diabetes Association. This year the honorees raised over $150,000 to help the American Diabetes Association fulfill its mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

To learn more about the Father of the Year Award and the American Diabetes Association visit http://www.diabetes.org/ or call 1-800-DIABETES (342-2383).